I Need You
by Momoiiee
Summary: Charles x Erik (Cherik), They were torn apart by stubbornness and pride, both too absorbed in their own ideas to realize what really mattered. rated M for future chapters. Please let me know what you think :) x
1. Chapter 1

**I need You**

**Chapter 1**

Charles sat in one of the many living rooms within the mansion, the only light coming from the fire that was burning, the curtains were drawn and most of the occupants of the house were sleeping. Charles was sat in his chair, staring into the flames, tears welding in his eyes as he thought back to the day on the beach, it seemed like a lifetime ago when his soul had shattered, it had barely been three days. The telepath felt like nothing, there was a void of emptiness within him, a void that had once been filled and then so suddenly ripped out of him, it had been ripped out of him the same day he had lost his legs, the same day everything he had been working on, everything he had been building collapsed.

A hot tear ran down his cheek and he spun abruptly in his chair, swinging his arm at the chessboard, the pieces were sent flying and the board chipped as it smashed onto the floor; Charles allowed himself to cry out, not just a single tear, but many tears flowed down his face, he cried out; falling from his chair onto the floor, crying out, the void was tearing him apart, he was empty, and all that was left was heartache.

The screams had startled Hank and the beast ran into the living room, regarding the scene in front of him; he knew the professor was in pain, not just physical pain, but emotional pain, and there wasn't much Hank could say that would calm the man down. Beast approached the sobbing man, scooping his fragile body onto his lap and allowed the man to cry, offering him some company, offering the man support, taking deep breathes as Charles involuntarily projected his pain, and his mind was going haywire, Hank tried to suppress the growls that were threatening to escape, the professor had a strong mind, these feelings of pain where only a small glimpse of what Charles was going through; it was unbearable.

Xavier eventually stilled, exhaustion taking over; Hank sighed with relief as the pain that had been echoing around the room ceased. They stayed still for what seemed like forever, Hank kept a careful monitor on the professor's pulse and breathing, just in case.

"I'm sorry Hank," Charles eventually sighed after half an hour of sitting in silence, the man attempted to sit up, Hank assisted him, supporting him as he pulled the telepath up and eased him into his chair.

"I'm here for you professor…I know what you are going through, although your pain runs deeper than mine." Xavier thanked beast before the mutant left him alone, closing the door behind him.

Charles closed his eyes, taking deep breathes before his touched his fingertips to his temple, trying to locate Erik, he knew it was futile, the man had the helmet on, he wouldn't be able to reach Erik unless the man wanted him to, which was unlikely; Erik had abandoned him, he didn't care about him, he was only interested in power, about revenge, interested in everything else apart from the one man who really cared about him.

The emptiness threatened to devour Charles again and the man stopped, panting, trying to calm himself down, hissing through his teeth as he tried to swallow the pain that was surging through his organs, mainly his heart, his mind felt like it was pulsing, telepathic energy escaping as all the emotions swelled inside him, his mind was trying to cope with the strain; emitting the vast amount of energy that was pulsing through him, been released in sharp, powerful bursts that eventually rendered the man unconscious.


	2. Chapter 2

**I need you**

**Chapter 2**

_Left a bit of a gap in my life, if I'm to be honest. I was rather hoping you would fill it._

How stupid could he have been? Using another telepath to try and replace the void that had been created when he had left Charles. The metal manipulator sat in the living room of the old mansion they had taken up residence in. Erik was still wearing his helmet, he didn't want to let Emma Frost into his mind, she had no place to look into it, only Charles was ever allowed into his mind, he had been the only one he would have trust in there.

The metal objects within the room were circling Erik as he sat on the sofa, deep in through, occasionally a piece of metal would be crushed, a spoon twisted and furniture deformed; a knock at the door brought him back to reality and he turned, unlocking the door, allowing the person access. Mystique poked her head around the door, looking up at the objects that hovered in the air.

"I thought I could come and keep you company tonight…" She sauntered towards Erik, lightly resting on the arm of the sofa.

"I like my privacy, if that the only reason you came, get out." Magneto snapped. Mystique was stunned by his lack of interest in her and she frowned, trying once more; she ran her fingertips along the man's muscular arm.

"What are you thinking about?" she continued to run her fingers up his arm, hoping he would relax into her touch. The metal objects slowly fell to the floor and Erik turned to look at the blue mutant.

"Charles." Erik's voice was a whisper.

"I know, I miss him too." The metal in the room began to creak and bend, scaring mystique, but she continued to rub his arm, trying to calm him.

"Raven…I'm not in the mood…" Erik hissed pressing his fingers to his eyebrow. "Just get out!" The woman didn't take a hint and instead she moved so she was straddling the man, looking into his eyes.

"Am I not attractive?" she asked, attempting to tease Magneto who clenched his fists. "You once said I was like a lioness."

"Yes you are beautiful, like a lioness." The man grumbled. "I'm not sexually attracted to lions…you misunderstood what I was saying that night Raven." Erik let out an exasperated sigh.

"But we kissed…"

"I kissed you to satisfy your need for acceptance, to get you out of my room so I could sleep!" Mystique swallowed, slowly crawling off the man's lap, heading for the door.

"Thank you for making your feelings clear to me." The door slammed shut behind her and Erik was left in peace, locking the door so no one else could disturb him, his clenched fists relaxed and he stared at the indents where his nails had dug into his palm, watching as the marks slowly disappeared amongst the scars.

Once again the metallic objects were lifted as Erik thought back to the day on the beach, the scars that were created there wouldn't fade so easily; the man turned, staring at the sculpture in the corner, made of solid metal, he raised his hand to the beautiful sculpture, his fingers twitching in anticipation, low groans could be heard before the metal began to collapse in on itself, been squashed, Erik let out a shout as he released the anger that boiled within him, releasing his wrath upon the sculpture, a satisfying smile spread across his lips once he had finished, the great figure now lay as a ball of metal on the floor.

Erik sighed, standing, lifting the dense ball of metal, using it to smash the window; he needed some air, and lots of it, the dense ball joined him.

(please let me know what you think so far…)


	3. Chapter 3

**I need you**

**Chapter 3**

Charles' emotional breakdowns had become less and less as the months past, and as the sixth month after the Cuba crisis approached Charles was almost back to himself; it had been a long and emotional journey for the mutants living with the telepath. The man's health had rapidly deteriorated to the point where the man was bedbound and his food was been supplied to him through tubes; Hank had spent many night developing a serum that would dull the professors power until he had regained his health; now much of Hank's research was spent looking for a cure for the professors spine, and he had recently made a breakthrough.

One night Hank had been up late, the television had been on in the background as he scanned the internet, not looking for anything in particular, just passing the time when his ears picked up on a story been reported, workmen within the Amazon rainforest had reported men disappearing and their camps been overrun by forest that had suddenly sprouted and grown overnight; at first Hank didn't pay much attention, workmen were often getting lost after wondering off into the forest; the thing that did catch Hank's attention was the description one of the men had given later on about a creature within the forest, a green creature with large orange eyes and a tail; Hank had read about Amazonian myths such as El lobizon and El Chullachaqui, but the man was describing the creature to have womanlike features, it could have been the legend of La Sachamama, but Hank came to the conclusion that this 'creature' was in fact a mutant, living within the forest with the ability to repair the dying forest; this had him very excited.

Hank had spoken to Charles on the matter the next morning over breakfast, even Charles was intrigued and the two began to plan a trip to the Amazon in search of this mutant with healing abilities, although it wasn't certain what they would find, Hank was determined to try, he knew if Charles got his legs back then he would be a step closer to happiness and not just an emotionless shell that was putting on a brave face. Banshee and Havoc were nervous about the two leaving, for one Charles health was still yo-yoing, he hadn't regained his strength and flying might put a strain on his body, not to mention gaining unwanted attention when crossing different airspace and when they land in the middle of the Amazon rainforest, they would have to land in a clearing, either somewhere where the trees had been cut down or where there was a workers camp; then there was the problem of actually finding the mutant, Charles had only recently come off of the serum that had dulled his power, what if he couldn't locate the mind of the mutant, if the mutant did exist.

Charles and Hank spent the next week figuring out the technicalities of their trip; Charles was ordered to try and eat properly to boost his weight whilst Banshee and Havoc helped Beast with various pieces of equipment they would need to take with them for every possible outcome and situation that they may face.

Their training and preparation had been cut short by some research Hank had stumbled across; Hank had been studying satellite pictures of the Amazon rainforest, which had him worry, the re-growth of the forest was visible on a monthly time scale, and it wouldn't be long before humans began to pick up on the fact there was something abnormal going on, the humans would want to find the cause, and possibly other mutants might want to find out, it takes a mutant to know a mutant and the abnormal growth of the rainforest was almost definitely the work of a mutant and others would want that power on their side, just like Hank and Charles did.

"Charles I hope you are ready to leave in the morning, if we don't act fast someone else might find the mutant, the government, various organisations…maybe even Erik and his brotherhood."

Charles gripped his chest, the pain he had squashed trickled to the surface, the man's breathing hitched in his throat as he struggled to control himself; eventually beating the pain back after five minutes of weak breathing and pain emitting waves that had caused Hank some discomfort. Charles straightening himself out quickly once he had control again; Hank gave the man and apologetic smiled, placing his hand on the professors shoulder for support, even the mention of _his _name set Charles off. Charles agreed that they would have to leave in the morning, turning in his chair and headed off in the direction of his bedroom, struggling to push the wheels, he was still weak and it took all his strength to reach his bedroom door, pushing it open. Beast followed the professor, holding the door for the man, and soon Charles' head was in his hands and the man began to sob quietly, Hank scooped Charles into his hairy arms, walking over to the professor's bed, placing the man under the covers, tucking the man into bed.

"I promise I will find a cure professor, I promise." Charles looked up at the blurry beast, wiping the tears away, he was so ashamed that he was crying, ashamed at how far he had fallen and how hard it was to get back up; he thanked Hank before Beast left the professor to sleep; heading to his own room; they both needed as much rest as possible. Hank's words stayed with Charles, he will find a cure, the only problem was; there was no cure for a broken heart.

-x-

The plane Hank had developed was incredible, they had set off in the early hours of the morning; flying at the planes maximum capacity, Charles had spent most of the time sleeping, but as they flew closer to South America Charles was up and prepared his mind, getting ready to try and locate the mutant who was somewhere within the dense forest.

Charles calmed himself down, relaxing, before he placed his fingertips on his temple and began searching; skipping through hundreds of minds quickly, it took him less than ten minutes to locate a mind that was scared, frantic and just the mind he was looking for.

"I've found her!" Charles exclaimed, sticking with the creature that was running through the forest, away from something; through her mind he realised what was chasing her, hunters. "We have to save her, she's been tracked." Hank looked for an opening, there wasn't one for miles; Charles took a deep breath before communicating with the mutant who was running for her life; he was scared that if he communicated with her then she would stop running and be captured or worse.

_**Please do not be afraid, keep running, but know I am not going to hurt you, I am here to help. **_

Charles spoke in her native tongue after he had searched her language centre; the mutant hissed, continuing to run, but the fear had built up within her, scared that the hunters were using ancient tricks to play with her mind.

_**My name is Charles Xavier, I am a mutant, like yourself, head towards the dead forest, 30 miles ahead of you, I will meet you there, and I can help you. **_

The mutant changed her course in the direction of the deforested area, agreeing to trust the '_mind whisperer_'. Charles quickly told Hank where to head, but his mind stayed with the mutant, guiding her through thought.

Hank quickly landed the plane, shutting down the engine before scooping Charles up into his arms and placed the fragile man into his wheelchair, lowering the platform to allow Charles off the plane.

_**Please do not be afraid, I will not harm you. **_

Charles reassured the mutant as she drew near, he knew she was scared, but she feared the hunters more than she feared the '_whisperer_'. In the mind of the mutant Charles could see the opening where he and Beast were stood, the mutant had stopped, staring at them; her eyesight was incredible, Charles lowered his head as a bow, Beast noticed and did the same.

Slowly the mutant revealed herself, stepping out into the opening, flinching when she saw the large, blue beast next to the small man in the wheelchair, but the words in her head calmed her down.

Charles stared at the mutant in front of him, she was an astonishing creature, her skin was leaf green and shiny, like that of a tree frog and she had large orange eyes.

"What do you want from me?" she questioned in her native language; Hank looked at Charles, hoping that the man would be able to answer her question because he had no idea what she had said.

"I want to know the extent of your abilities, I want to know if you can heal my broken body, and in exchange I can stop this." Charles motioned to the dead tree stumps around him. "Will you show me what you are capable of?" Hank just stood there with his head bowed, he had no understanding of what was going on, but the mutant was almost within touching distance so whatever they were saying must have caused the woman to warm up to them.

The green mutant walked over to one of the tree stumps, rubbing her had onto the stump, Charles could see a slightly sticky looking substance spreading over the tree and ever so slowly the stump began to grow, its dead bark began to brown and leaves began to sprout, the mutant then held her arms out and a green tinted liquid began to slowly ooze from her body, falling to the floor and spreading around them, and one by one the trees around the mutants began to come to life, growing and sprouting new leaves, leaving a space around them, but they were now surrounded by adult trees with healthy leaves, Hank was a little concerned how they were going to fly out of the 'opening' now.

The large man gasped in amazement, going down onto his knees and extending his hand towards the extraordinary mutant. Charles explained that the blue mans gesture was of great respect for her and the green mutant bowed her head back.

"I have never tried to heal a human body before." The mutant admitted, but the words that escaped her lips were in English; Charles smiled, before explaining to the confused mutant that he had projected his knowledge of the English language from his language centre to hers.

The sound of shouted made all three mutants jump, and they turned looking at the forest, the hunters had found them.

"I will take care of this, please just stand behind me." The green mutant nodded, walking up to the professor and stood next to him, shaking slightly; Charles noticed that the woman's body had a light coating of the sticky substance she had placed on the trees.

Four men emerged from the forest, they were not hunters, but instead they were workmen, whose job it was to cut the trees down, they had been searching for the mutant for three days, after two of their colleagues went missing, one of the men had caught a glimpse of the woman and the men had chased her.

Charles quickly entered one of the men's minds, taking control of him, turning to speak with the others; hopefully he could encourage them to leave through their common beliefs.

"Brothers, this creature isn't the monster. She is a goddess, sent to this world to heal this dying planet, if we kill her, the planet will die and we will be cursed." The other men stared at their colleague who had suddenly changed his attitude; but the four men were superstitious and their friend's words had scared them.

"We should stop destroying this land, or this goddess's wrath will be unleashed." Charles had quickly entered the other man's mind, making all the men agree that what they were doing was wrong, and the three of them; after half an hour of discussion In their native tongue, (Charles of course was there, encouraging the epiphany), the four men turned to the green lady and bowed, apologising to the 'goddess' for destroying her home, the mutant played her part very well, blessing the four men, before they scurrying back into the forest.

"How did you do that?" she asked, stunned.

"I entered the mind of those men, much like I did with yours, but instead I took control of their minds…" the mutant fell to her knees, holding onto the professor's hand, thanking him for his kindness and help.

"I do not know if I can help you, but I will try." The woman eventually stated. Charles motioned the woman to board the plane, the mutant hesitated through, she didn't want to leave the forest, she needed to be there to heal it; Charles convinced the woman that the workers would spread the tale amongst the other workers and there would be a chain reaction, eventually all the workers would leave, meaning that the rainforest would be safe.

Charles collapsed in his chair, the task had been extremely taxing on his body and the strength that was squashing the pain relaxed and soon Charles found his whole body shaking, he quickly fumbled around in the medical bag Hank had brought, searching for the serum, jabbing it into his arm quickly, injecting the whole syringe, gasping; this scared the new mutant who stared at him, eyes wide. Charles threw the syringe onto the floor, sitting back in his chair taking deep breathes. The green mutant reached forward, touching her hand to the professor's chest, the green liquid seeped through his shirt, coming into contact with the man's skin, his chest began to tingle, but a calm feeling seemed to spread through his body, his breathing steadied and the pain seemed to slowly sink until Charles was left feeling calm, almost at peace.

This mutant was the key to healing Charles and Hank was eager to get back to the Xavier Mansion.

(Please tell me what you think, I'm not 100% sure about this chapter… :s I would really appreciate peoples opinions, the good and the bad.)


	4. Chapter 4

**I need You**

**Chapter 4**

Erik had been in a foul mood all morning, and Mystiques mood hadn't been that appealing either, the two had become angry when Emma had mentioned that Charles had a new lady living with them, another mutant, she had caught a glimpse of Hank's mind when Charles' concentration had slipped and she had managed to gain access for a short period of time; they had been out of the mansion, that was the only time she had the chance of entering any of their minds; Hank had set up some sort of shield around the house with Charles' help.

Erik hadn't been bothered by the fact a lady was living within the Xavier mansion, but what had bothered him was how Emma had then gone on to talk about how she had felt Charles' presence a few times within the past couple of weeks, only during the night, the man let his guard down, like he was crying out for someone; Erik knew Charles would be in no fit state, if he was struggling to control his feelings he knew Charles would be too. Even when Erik had twisted the knife that was in Emma's hand she hadn't taken the hint to stop, and carried on talking about the man, almost mocking how weak Charles had become since Cuba; Erik had lost control, stabbing the butter knife into Emma's hand before she had a chance to shift into diamond, although Erik had managed to control himself enough not to cause any major harm, but his mood swings were beginning to scare the others. Erik had even removed his helmet to scream at the woman telepathically, he was fuming, his face was red with anger and he quickly removed himself from the dining room, heading out for some fresh air, destroying a radiator as he did, the car that was parked outside the mansion didn't last long either and Erik threw the mangled car across the field that stretched for miles around them. He wanted to see Charles…he needed to see Charles.

Erik set of walking towards the nearest town, once he was at a safe distance he removed his helmet, his head had been cooped up in his helmet for so long, removing it was like been freed from a cage and he inhaled deeply, ruffling his hair, running his fingers through it a couple of times.

Magneto put some sunglasses on, he didn't want to be recognised, and you never know who could be around. The man walked to the nearest café and purchased a coffee, sitting outside, watching the world go by, peeking at a magazine, the front page still had pictures of the Cuba crisis on it, with statements from the president. Erik quickly looked away; everywhere he looked there were reminders about Charles, he thought coming out would stop him from thinking about the man, but it just seemed to make it worse.

And just as he thought it couldn't get worse, it did. Emma was in his head now, at first she began to apologise for what she had said, but then she began to pry, asking him what was wrong, asking him about Charles, beginning to show him parts of Hank's thoughts, including an image of Charles' fragile body; she knew she was tormenting him, she had access to his mind and thoughts, she was going to get as much out of this rare occasion as she could. Erik begged her to stop but she continued, and just as Erik was about to snap her voice in his head suddenly ceased, the images also left his mind, and the man's stomach began to churn…it could be that Emma realise the pain she was causing him and had decided to stop of her own free will…but the more likely cause of her silence was that Charles was shielding his mind. Erik swallowed hard, not knowing what to think, not knowing what to say…the professor didn't speak to him or reveal if he was there, but something deep within Erik told him that _his _telepath had just come to his rescue; the German pushed his sunglasses up slightly to wipe away the tears that were threatening to slip down his cheek, he was annoyed at himself for getting so emotional, and quickly grabbed his helmet, almost sprinting out of the town to where he could put his helmet back on without been recognised or stared at, running into the field he had throw the car into, putting the helmet back on and he felt the calm presence leave him. The man stopped, collapsing to the floor once he was far away from anything, screaming at the sky, punching the ground, his anger and frustration boiling over, his magnetic energy so strong that decaying metallic objects began to rip through the soil, floating around him as he clenched his teeth. He should never have left Charles, all this pain and suffering had been caused by him, he was a fool and he knew he was, blinded by his stubbornness.

He wanted to go back, he wanted to hold Charles again; but couldn't face crawling back, he didn't know if he would be accepted and the thought of been turned away by Charles was just as torturing as leaving him.

Erik didn't return home that night. 

* * *

Please let me know what you think to this chapter, more to follow very soon (sorry this update took so long) x


	5. Chapter 5

**I need you**

**Chapter 5**

Charles lay very still as the Amazonian mutant lay next to him, moulding her body to his shape. Xavier was only in his underwear, the woman lay naked, spooning him, her body was cold and slightly sticky and soon the sticky fluid began to spread across the man's back, covering his limbs, and before long his entire body was covered in the green substance that caused his whole body to tingle.

The green mutant slid her hand between them, pressing her palm against the small of Charles' back where the bullet wound was, releasing a more concentrated form of her fluid around his spine; Charles let out a strangled gasp as she did, trying to control his breathing, he hadn't expected the process to be painful…but then again he didn't know what to expect, he just wanted his legs back.

The mutants lay on the bed for at least an hour before Lavella stood up, leaving Charles asleep, still covered in the slime, the longer she left the slime on him, hopefully the better his back would get, and the sooner it would be repaired, healing Charles seemed to be more challenging than the trees back in the Amazon, there was something stopping her fluid from been absorbed by the man, maybe the process would need repeating, but something had worried her, once her fluid had spread over the man's body she could feel everything Charles was, every muscle, every nerve, and something wasn't right...she needed Hank, there was something very wrong.

Hank was waiting for her outside the room, he had been pacing back and forth for the past hour, nervously waiting.

"Is he alright?" Hank asked once the door had been shut.

"We will have to do this process a couple more times, just as you had predicted, but…there…there is something stopping the fluid from been properly absorbed by his body…" Hank's brow furrowed.

"What do you mean?" Hank had run every test he had felt necessary on the professor, the mutants words had now panicked the beast, worrying his had missed something vital.

"I think the professor…may…" the mutant stopped, she wasn't even sure what she was saying, scientifically this was impossible, but Hank questioned her. Lavella took a deep breath before continuing. "I think he may be with child…" the green mutant said very slowly as if processing the information herself. Hank froze, that was impossible, he would have noticed, he would have known, the professor would have known…Hank wasn't even sure this it was possible, he didn't realise that Charles and Erik had ever… he quickly averted his thoughts, now he knew why the professor was so distressed and broken, Erik and Charles had not just been the best of friends, they hadn't just had a small flirtatious fling, they had been together, a couple, Hank could have guessed that much, but now he actually knew the truth it put everything into perspective.

Hank suddenly took off down the hall, running as fast as he could into his lab, grabbing equipment to make a makeshift ultrasound scanner, the slime on Charles' body would be enough to create a smooth surface for the transducer to move across, but also make a conductive barrier for the sound waves to travel through, and give them an idea of what was going on inside Charles' body.

Once back in Xavier's room with all the equipment, Hank gently rolled the fragile man onto his back, gathering some of the sticky substance onto the man's stomach, quickly pressing the transducer against his stomach, looking at the old monitor as he did. At first there was nothing abnormal about the man's stomach, but as Hank moved the transducer around something appeared on the monitor, a small figure on the black screen; Hank gasped, stepping back from the unconscious man, turning to the green mutant who was staring at the screen fascinated.

"Lavella, you were right!" Hank exclaimed quietly, he was feeling a little lightheaded, this was all too much to take in, he was frustrated with himself that he had not realised before; Charles was in no fit state to be carrying a child, at this rate there was going to be serious damage done to the child; how did Charles not know that he could carry children.

Hank acted fast, scooping the professor into his arms, carrying him to the bathroom, gently placing the man into the bath tub, washing away the green fluid that was covering his body, he didn't know if Lavella's healing juice would harm the baby, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

"Is there anything I can do Hank?" Lavella asked, placing the special watch Charles and Hank had invented for her, it stopped her body from oozing the fluid and the woman was able to wear clothes and touch items without the fear of leaving her slime everywhere. Once the professor was wrapped in a warm towel Hank quickly changed the bed sheets and duvet cover with Lavella's help, and he placed the professor back into the bed, tucking him in, leaving the room with the Amazonian woman.

"You are a good friend to the professor Hank, do not worry, It will all be ok." Hank sighed, hugging the woman; he hoped she was right.

The two mutants were suddenly struck with the same agonising pain, both staggering, clutching the wall; Charles.

Hank quickly ran into the room, the unconscious professor was tossing and turning, physically crying out, Lavella could barely stand in the room, the pain the professor was projecting was excruciating; Hank wasn't sure what had set this off, worried it was a reaction to the healing fluid; but the professor, whilst in an unconscious state was unable to control his emotions like he could when he was awake and his mind was probably processing the pain whilst he slept, unable to control the amount running through his body so it emitted the pain in an attempt to rid his body of it.

Hank fumbled around in the medical bag by the side of the professor's bed, grabbing a syringe of serum, removing the cap and quickly jabbed the needle into Charles' arm, releasing the serum slowly, Lavella managed to walk over to the professor, forcefully emitting some fluid from her finger, running it along the professors sweaty forehead in an attempt to help, almost throwing up due to the pain, this close to the professor it was unbearable.

Eventually the pain that was been emitted stopped and the two mutants gasped for air, like they had been suffocated.

Havoc and Banshee walked through the door, both looking extremely pale, staggering in.

"Is the professor alright?" Alex asked, holding onto Banshee's shoulder for support. Hank nodded, he didn't elaborate, not wanting to reveal the truth until he had had a chance to speak with the professor about what he and Lavella had discovered. Hank worried that the disruption they had caused to the child had set Charles off, as if to protect his baby, warding off people who meant to harm them.

The mutants left the professor to rest, hopefully there wouldn't be another psychological attack anytime soon, and the serum would last another six hours at least.

-x-

Charles' body ached as he tried to sit up, he was in his bedroom, the last thing he remembered was Lavella hugging him as a pain ricocheted throughout his body, he remembered the wet sticky substance covering his body, but his mind went blank soon after. The man reached for his lamp, flicking the switch but the light failed to turn on; the man frowned, carefully rolling over to the other side of the bed to try that lamp, still no power, the frail man sat up, he was stiff and he let out a groan lifting his pillow to rest his back against.

Charles froze as he tried to contact Hank, there was another mind, close by; the dreaded pain began to resurface, flooding his fragile body as he struggled for control once again, daring to enter _his _mind.

_Where are you?_

The question was somewhat pointless to ask, Charles could see where the man was, he was stood opposite him, staring at him in the darkness, the moonlight revealing him.

_Turn my lamp on, please._

His voice was shaky, even in his head, he was struggling to keep control of himself, so many emotions stirred inside him, anger, sadness, hatred, love; emotions that were fighting with each other, he wanted to use all the strength he had to launch himself at the man, to beat him, he wanted to kiss the man, torture the man's mind, holding him tight, all at the same time; after a few minutes of silence, and Charles battle with his mind the lights flickered on; the man squinted before he looked at the man properly for the first time in weeks; seeing the man eased Charles' pain and the battling emotions seemed to quieten down, as if the man been stood there stopped him from having to think about him, Charles' whole body shook as he started at the object of his pain and he was unable to control it.

**I'm so sorry.**

Erik had huge purple bags beneath his beautiful, tortured eyes. The two men stared at each other, Charles was trying to stop the tears that were escaping, and Erik was finding it hard to hold back his own, taking a step closer to the man who was sat up, frozen.

_Don't come any closer! _

Charles snapped, shaking with sadness and anger; Erik just wanted to wrap himself around his telepath, comfort him and admit how important the man was to him, tell him how he felt; maybe Charles already knew. Erik ignored the man, walking to the end of the telepaths bed.

**Please let me speak.**

_What is there to talk about? You've broken me Erik, in so many ways._

Charles' body continued to shake, his tears streaming down his face, he was a mess; they both were.

**You are not the only one who has been in pain Charles, I have been in just as much pain as you, please believe me.**

Erik begged, holding onto the metal railing of the bed, it creaked quietly beneath him; the pain that was within his body was threatening to escape and mangle the metal within Charles' room.

_If…if you don't leave now, I'll…I'll call Hank and the others._

Erik frowned, angered by the threat, raising his hands, manipulating the metal bedpost, strapping Charles' wrists to the post, crawling onto the bed, their eyes locked, never leaving one another's gaze.

**Fine then, call for them, let them kill me, is that what you want Charles? Death would put me out of my misery.**

Charles didn't call out, and the telepathic pulses had stopped, he was calm...or didn't have enough strength left, Charles let out a sigh, he didn't have the strength for this, he was exhausted, physically and mentally and Erik's words had stabbed him, no, he didn't want Erik to be killed, but Erik been in his room with him now was torture.

Erik released Charles' wrists, fixing the bed, their gaze never parting; Magneto was arching over Xavier's fragile body, a tear dripped off the end of his nose and landed on Charles' neck, Erik leant down but before he could do anything Charles' fist came into contact with the man's face, and as Erik staggered back holding his cheek Charles used all his strength to punch the German's other cheek, his whole body shaking with adrenaline, it had felt good to punch the man, so good, just the kind of therapy he needed. Charles pushed his luck by taking another swing at the man, but Erik grabbed the professor's skinny wrist, gripping it hard, so hard that Charles winced in pain, but didn't cry out.

"That's it, keep hurting me, that's all you know now, how to hurt people!" Charles hissed; keeping his voice down, he didn't want to attract Hank's attention, hopefully the beast was asleep.

Erik raised Charles' hand above his head, manipulating his other hand with the man's watch that was strapped to his wrist, almost raising the fragile man off the bed; leaning forwards and before Charles could react Erik's lips crushed against his own. At first Charles resisted, refusing to kiss the man back despite Erik pecking gently at the man's lips repeatedly, but soon the angst over the last week seemed to melt away, and the man began to kiss Erik back, the metal manipulator released Xavier's hands and the man wrapped them around the German's back pulling him closer, this kiss was slowly, repairing the emptiness that had consumed him; Charles couldn't get enough of Erik, he needed him closer.

"Erik." Charles sobbed when they broke away for air; his voice was a shaky whisper, the man was actually there, this wasn't a nightmare created by his subconscious to torment him, Erik was in his room.

"Oh Charles, I've missed you so much, please forgive me, I was a fool." Lensherr wasn't holding back his emotions now, and the two men embraced, Erik held his fragile telepath in his arms, crawling under the covers. "You've lost weight Charles, too much." Erik let out a sob. "Oh god what have I done to you!" Erik held Charles tighter than before, nuzzling into the man's neck.

The two men lay in the darkness, listening to the sound of the other man breath, the fear that Erik would leave again never left Charles and the man found it hard to sleep, even when Erik was deep in his sleep Charles continued to stare at the man, panic eventually setting in that if he fell asleep Erik would jump up and leave, Charles knew that if he left the pain would be worse than it had been before, he didn't know whether he would cope.

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Hope you enjoyed this chapter x


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